Forever 52 Baked (Not Fried) Eyeshadow / Blusher Review

Photo credits to Dennis Turla

 I have seen and heard about this brand, probably once or twice--but never really thought about trying it out. I have to be honest, whenever I see a plain black palette with a logo by a make-up brand, my thought races to the phrase, "Made in China". Truthfully speaking, I never had a good experience with baked eye shadows but this unexpected gem totally changed my perception! 

Thanks to Karen. She gave me the opportunity to try out this amazing product, and I must say, she can never go wrong with making this as an in-house brand for her online fashion shopping haven , Yahala Fashion.

Read more to find out what my thoughts are and my recommendations on this palette!


Forever52 is a German brand of cosmetics, which is sold locally here in the UAE as well as in the GCC. They claim that their range of products caters to the needs of professional makeup artists and that their choice of colors and textures allows for full personal expression, from simple day makeup to the extravagant creation. Well, we'll find out...

First off, what is a "baked" eyeshadow? No, it's not baked like a muffin in the oven--but yes, it's baked. Baked under the sun. Baked eye shadow simply means that its compounds were baked together in the sun. Undeniably, these baked shadows are gorgeous. You will see some palettes with marbled look, with at least 2 colors swirled within the compound.

Okay, so now you know that these eye shadows are not hot from the oven, or fried. Let's move on to my review!

  
Baked Eyeshadow Palette in 04 
>Mostly Pinks, Peach and Coral Hues.

Swatches (since this palette does not provide color codes for the swatches, I've based it on hex # to give you the color names)

Top, From R-L: Amaranth, Alizarin, Jasper, Cherry Blossom Pink, Bubble Gum
Bottom,  R-L:  Pastel Pink, Dark Terracotta, Pink, Cordovan, Bazaar, Carmine

The Packaging

It’s the usual black plastic palette with coin-sized swatch container and has a lengthwise mirror to use. There isn’t anything special about the way it was packed but I do like the fact that it’s not chalky. I always do this test with all my palettes. I turn it upside down to see if it’s compact or not; and to test if any of the swatches will fall—proof that manufacturers don’t pay much attention to the way they package these palettes. Good thing none of the swatches were loose nor any speck of powder was seen.

The Swatches


Well, what more can I say? The colors are comparatively vibrant and easy to blend. Palette 04 is all pinks, peach & coral hues. I say, I can use it more as a "blusher" than for "eyeshadow". But I had to put it into test. I decided to do 2 tests on the palette - DRY & WET application. As it turned out, both works really well! This palette can be used DRY for a semi-transparent light effect or WET (with damp brush) to intensify the iridiscent effect and for better long lasting coverage.so here's the look you get when you apply it DRY:

...and this is how it looks like when applied WET:

..and here goes the next palette:

Baked Eyeshadow Palette in 02

>Mostly taupe-based tones, to grey to bright yellows.


Top, from L-R: Apricot, Fawn, Cadmium Orange, Lawn Green, Dark Khaki, Battleship Grey
Bottom, from R-L: Daffodil, Icterine, Golden Yellow, Sunset, Pumpkin, Safety Orange


 The Swatches:

Palette 02 is a combination of yellows and taupe-based colors. It's a great combination, I think because you get the best of both warm & cool tones.


Overall Rating:

I feel that this palette has a unique advantage because it includes an equal amount of warm and cool shades for optimal versatility. It features warm, golden-based colors as well as cool, taupe-based shades.
 
You will like it if:

• You dig satin finish eye shadows
• You want easy blending
• You don't want fall outs
• You want a budget-friendly palette
• You want pigmented shadows
• You like a versatile palette that can work on both dry and wet applications.

Star rating:

I’d highly recommend it to those that loved baked shadows as these are sooooo incredibly silky and loving the wear however those who aren’t a fan might want to skip out on this one.

 What do you think of this palette?

Do you like baked shadows?

Leave a comment!

 ....and, as promised! Here are some of the photos from a recent shoot, in which I used Forever52 baked eyeshadow palette in 02 as my main beauty tool :)

Photo by Elmer A. Magallanes Jr.

Photo by Dennis Turla

Photo by Dennis Turla

Photo by Dennis Turla

Photo by Elmer A. Magallanes Jr.

Thanks to the following:

Elmer A. Magallanes Jr - for the opportunity to shoot in EAM studio :) The best!
Dennis Turla - no need to say further!
To PS family - muchos gracias!
To Megan Lambert - for being a patient and very easy to work with model

Special thanks to Karen Penaloza of Yahala Fashion.

To check out more about Yahala Fashion, please visit their website, click HERE.
And their Facebook Page too, click HERE.

Don't forget to check out their latest products and features! It's truly a beauty and fashion haven for us all! :)

Ladies, stay tuned for my next blog post!

Gotta run!

Bonne Nuit :)


XOXO,

The Smoky Blue Palette